Running, weight loss, muscle loss, etc

[biggest ragu]

I haven't been on here in a while, but I need some assistance and figured I'd turn to you smart people for some help. One year ago I was 263lbs, high body fat (I'm 6'4). I got my diet in check, got my exercising on point, and started to lose the weight/fat almost immediately. At the time I had a good mix of weight lifting, cardio, and my diet was pretty well tailored for what I was looking to accomplish.
At some point, I got into running. I ran my first 5k one year ago, at a blistering 34.30. As I progressed with my diet/exercise, I started running more and more. Somewhere along the line I became more caught up in running than anything else. Anyway, now that it's winter and too cold to be outside, I want to cut the running way back and add some weight/muscle/strength.
I now weigh 195, which is much lower than I ever wanted to get. I planned to stop losing around 220. I am weak and not even very lean. Somehow I managed to screw this up a bit. So what I need is some help, I'd like to make some strength gains, and put on some size. What I need to know is what I should be eating to accomplish this. The only thing I take as far as any sort of supplement is 1 protein drink. Thanks in advance!

 

[Welter]

Congrats on the weight loss man great job. You sound like me, your either all in or not at all.

Few suggestions for you (if you do have the same personality as me.) Do both, lift then do cardio. I feel it hinders my leg development but my legs still look better than 90% of the guys in my gym.

Are you planning on working out 2? 3? 5x a week? That will kind if determine what your splits are. Also, your going to have a VERY hard time trying to convince yourself to eat enough. As a former fat guy, I'm lower than I want to be, I have a serious problem convincing myself it's ok to eat more. I know it is but trying to eat more when you see the progress you've made is going to be hard to overcome. I'ts still a work in progress for me.

Also, post up your normal diet and BMR/tdee we will get you on the right track.

 

[biggest ragu]

Thanks man. Yeah, I'm all or nothing with everything I do. I kind of get bored after a while, and move on to the next thing. Now that there's no more 5k's for the year, I want to take the winter to put on some size, and as I get closer to spring I'll up the cardio and cut some.

As for working out, I only have time for 3 days a week. I'm going to focus on lifting, and cut the running back to only 15 mins or so, a couple times a week. Where I'm going to struggle is with eating. I'm not sure what my calories should be, and what exactly I should be eating. I have some issues with that, as my job seriously hinders my eating. I find myself having to eat my last meal about an hour or so before I go to bed. Plus, for the 8-12 hours a day I work, drinking water is tough.

Right now when I eat I always eat a protein with a carb. I eat about 3000 calories a day which keeps me at about 195-200. I'd really be happy to get back to 220 without gaining a ton of fat.

 

[3J]

ur in good hands here with welter... listen well

ill be following along myself

 

[Welter]

whats your bmr/tdee? take a look at 3j's first post in his sticky thread to get the formula.

 

[biggest ragu]

Bmr is 2078. Tdee is 3585ish.

 

[Welter]

So your going to want to eat 250-300 above your tdee. I would go slightly more on your workout days and adjust as needed. Your going to want to follow a similar diet to the ones in 3j's sticky. If you want to post up a diet we can take a look at it. Also, where in the day is your workout? between which meals generally?

 

[biggest ragu]

I'll take a look at the diet in his sticky. 99% of the time I work out in the am, I eat my first meal, hit the gym, then go home and eat an hour or so later.

 

[biggest ragu]

So, I have a problem. I can't eat enough. With my job I can't just go off every 3 hours and eat, last night I went 8 hours without a break, when I got home it was 11pm, and I don't want to eat a lot before I go to bed. Any suggestions?